Car robbery terror for Liza Minnelli

Liza Minnelli and new husband David Gest have been subjected to a "terrifying" robbery, the latest victims of the crimewave sweeping London.

Thieves tried to force open the door of their car and snatch a £10,000 diamond necklace from Ms Minnelli as they stopped at lights near Holland Park Tube station last night.

Three youths picked out the chauffeur-driven D-registration Mercedes and saw, through a halfopened blacked-out window, that Ms Minnelli was wearing the crucifix-style necklace.

One of the robbers reached through the window and tried to rip the diamonds from her neck but the chauffeur saw him in the rear-view mirror and managed to trap his hand by closing the electric window.

Another youth then tried to open the door, but the chauffeur put his foot down and the car sped away to safety.

Ten minutes after the attack, which happened at about 9.40pm, the chauffeur drove the honeymooning pair to the Notting Hill branch of Starbucks, where they bought soft drinks to calm their nerves.

Still shaken, they gave their version of events. Ms Minnelli, 56, said: "Did you see that? It was incredible. It was so terrifying. There were these three black kids who just picked on us at the lights. They obviously saw what I was wearing and tried to grab for it.

"Luckily, they had no joy and we got away. The young guy's hand was getting caught in the closing window, but he got away. It was really horrific - very frightening."

A witness to the attack added: "They obviously saw the diamond crucifix glinting through the window and made a go for it. When they realised that wasn't working, they tried the handle on the door, then made a swift exit."

The drama came after Ms Minnelli left BBC studios in west London where she had been recording an interview with Jonathan Ross for a television show to be screened this weekend-She had then been due to attend the opening of a West End club.

But after the incident Miss Minnelli and her 48-year-old husband were so shaken they decided to have an early night.

The couple went straight back to the £1,000-a-night Lanesborough hotel where they have been celebrating their honeymoon after a star-studded wedding in New York at the weekend. Last night's events were in stark contrast to those of the previous evening, when the honeymooners went on a big night out, eventually arriving back at their hotel an hour before sunrise.

They were heard telling their Lanesborough butler: "Wake-up call at 3.20 this afternoon please - and not a minute earlier."

The couple had been partying-with their best friend Martine McCutcheon - Liza's bridesmaid - at the China White club off Regent Street.

The robbery bid is the latest in a spree of attacks in central London. It came the day crime figures showed there were 5,246 muggings in London last month, compared with 4,426 in the same month last year.